1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of packaging and dispensing. More specifically, this invention relates to improved tamper-evident closure for dispensing a viscous foodstuff or other liquids.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Various beverages, foods, medicines and the like are delivered to the public in bottles or other containers that are provided with resealable closures. Such closures provide a benefit to the consumer in that the containers can be tightly sealed and resealed after opening, which prolongs the shelf life of the product and maintains freshness. Although resealable containers provide benefits to consumers, by their nature they permit unauthorized and sometimes undetectable tampering with the product. Accordingly, many modem consumer products are packaged using tamper evident closures, which are designed to make it apparent to a consumer that a container has been opened.
One conventional tamper evident closure 10, which is of the fliptop variety, is depicted in FIG. 1. Closure 10 includes a body portion 12 that is adapted to be secured to a container and that has a dispensing opening 14 defined therein. A lid portion 14 is hingedly mounted to the body portion 12 so as to be movable between a first, closed position as shown in FIG. 1 and a second, open dispensing position. Closure 10 is further provided with a tamper evident band 16 that is frangibly secured to the body portion 12 and that forms an interlock with the lid portion 14 that is designed to prevent opening of the closure prior to removal of the tamper evident band 16. Interlock 18 includes a projection 20 that is integrally molded into the lid portion 14 and that is shaped and sized to contact the underside 22 of the tamper evident band 16 whenever the lid portion 14 is attempted to be opened with the tamper evident band 16 still in place.
Unfortunately, it is possible to overcome the interlock 18 in some circumstances by mechanically prying the tamper evident band 16 away from the lid portion 14 to the extent that the lower surface 22 of the tamper evident band 16 clears the projection 20. This, of course, is undesirable, and a need exists for a closure that provides even a higher degree of tamper evidence and security.